Tagua Nut YZ Bird Bottle Stopper

A YZ nut bird bottle stopper designed by draftsman & cartoonist Bernard Charles Howell for Henry Howell & Co., 1925.

The head of this kooky bird is rattan which has been carved to shape and impressed with a crown of decorative concentric circles, reminiscent of the eyespots on a peafowl’s crest.

The bird’s main body is a tagua nut, commonly known as vegetable ivory, which is the fruit of the ivory-nut palm that grows in tropical America, from Paraguay to Panama.

Appropriately Art Deco in style is the large semi-translucent green beak, which is made of Bakelite, as is the circular disk on which the bird is perched, atop the original cork.

The final material the bottle stopper incorporates is glass. Attesting to the quality of YZ products, the bird is fitted with cased glass eyes. A ball of black glass creates the pupil which has been backed by yellow glass before these layers are then cased in clear glass.

Overall, as Ian Holdsworth [1] beautifully described on BBC Radio 4 YZ objects like this speak of a time of fun, of partying and of relief of a war over. It is decorative and tactile and new, yet vaguely reminiscent of a hieroglyph, so suitably art deco. YZ accessories perform in an expensive way the same function as cheaper bottle stoppers/matchboxes/ashtrays, but this only adds their desirability. The form, materials and use define their time. [2]

Although unbranded, as no surface permits, this bird can be seen in The YZ Archive.

[1] Ian Holdsworth is author of ‘YZ: the eccentric, idiosyncratic and unique product design of Henry Howell & Co.’ the definitive guide to YZ creations.

[2] BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects, in association w. the British Museum, 2010.